The present application relates generally to an improved data processing apparatus and method and more specifically to mechanisms for performing caching of patient information using variable lists and evaluating patient rules based on the variable lists.
Monitoring patients with chronic illnesses, such as congestive heart failure, diabetes, and asthma represents one of the greatest challenges facing modern medicine. Patients with chronic illnesses require ongoing, follow-up treatment and care to properly manage their conditions. Unfortunately, a number of these patients do not receive ongoing treatment and care, receive treatment and care on a sporadic basis, or receive treatment and care which is not in accordance with recommended guidelines. Worse, patients often fail to do the basic simple day-to-day tasks that could prevent or reduce the frequency and magnitude of a catastrophic event such as a hospitalization. As a result, these patients often unnecessarily suffer from symptoms of their chronic illness which would have been minimized or prevented with proper ongoing treatment and care. Additionally, some of these patients may later require hospitalization, or in severe cases some of these patients may die, both of which may have been prevented if the patient was receiving the proper ongoing treatment and care.